Colonel Littleton (born December 15, 1943) is an American

fashion designer Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applied arts, applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has va ...

and business

proprietor Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as ''title'', which may be separated and held by diffe ...

, best known for his Col. Littleton brand of leather goods, apparel and specialty products − most handmade in his Lynnville, TN workshop by local craftsmen. Col. Littleton, The Great American Leather Company, was established in 1987.

Early life and career

Colonel Littleton was born Garry Allen Littleton in

Camden, Tennessee Camden is a city in and the county seat of Benton County, Tennessee. The population was 3,674 at the 2020 census. History Native Americans were living in the Camden area as early as the Archaic period (8000-1000 BC). A significant archaeologica ...

to Avery (née Allen) and Lester Coleman Littleton, a

millwright A millwright is a craftsman or skilled tradesman who installs, dismantles, maintains, repairs, reassembles, and moves machinery in factories, power plants, and construction sites. The term ''millwright'' (also known as ''industrial mechanic'') ...

and carpenter. Following the loss of his mother, his father married Martha Beech and the family relocated to Oak Ridge, Tennessee and later to Nashville where Colonel spent his formative years. Colonel graduated from Bellevue High School in

Nashville, TN Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, attended

David Lipscomb University Lipscomb University is a private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. It is affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The campus is located in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville; it also maintains one satellite locat ...

and later served in the

US Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, mi ...

. He married Norma Ann (Susie) Hobbs in 1975. He worked at Tom James Co., where he sold custom men's clothing and as National Sales Director at The Benson Company (later known as

Benson Records Benson Records was founded by Bob Benson and John T. Benson, who formed the John T. Benson Music Publishing Company in 1902. The record label started out as Heart Warming Records, creating house labels such as Impact Records, Greentree Records, ...

), a music publishing company in Nashville, TN. Later, he worked for New York-based companies like Ghurka and Trafalgar, selling clothing and accessories to men's specialty stores.

Business

He launched his label in 1987 from the third floor attic of his home, selling

antique An antique () is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that i ...

cufflinks Cufflinks are items of jewelry that are used to secure the cuffs of dress shirts. Cufflinks can be manufactured from a variety of different materials, such as glass, stone, leather, metal, precious metal or combinations of these. Securing o ...

to specialty stores such as

Paul Stuart Paul Stuart is a men's luxury clothing brand founded in 1938 in New York City and owned by Mitsui since 2012. The company has four standalone boutiques in the US and one in Japan. Sanyo Shokai has been its sole distributor in Japan since 199 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, that appreciated his eye for the interesting. He designed the packaging, creating the cross swords logo and Col. Littleton motif that would become his brand mark. From antique cufflinks he moved into pocket knives, which he designed using

mother of pearl Nacre ( , ), also known as mother-of-pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer. It is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent. Nacre is ...

and bone. He offered customers the option to

engrave Engraving is the practice of incising a design on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an inta ...

the handle and/or bolsters. Over the years, the business has expanded into leather goods. Colonel's collection includes a diverse array of products including leather travel bags, briefcases, handbags, portfolios, journals, apparel, and beyond. Each item reflects his deep respect for tradition and dedication to craftsmanship.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Littleton, Colonel American businesspeople in fashion American fashion designers 1943 births Living people People from Giles County, Tennessee People from Camden, Tennessee